text:
The Curious Dustin McGowan Contract Extension
Under ordinary circumstances, it might seem crazy to sign a player who has appeared in only 29 games in the past 32 months to a contract extension (hat tip to @ArdenZwelling). But Dustin McGowan is anything but ordinary.
It appears as though the Blue Jays are taking a leap of faith by inking Dustin McGowan to a two-year contract extension (plus an option for a third). The timing of the announcement could not be any more confusing, as McGowan left his minor league start on Sunday with a foot injury.
There was a veritable gamut of emotions within 24 hours; at first it seemed like Dustin McGowan might not be on track to make the Opening Day roster. And then the next day, he signs a contract extension. Talk about highs and lows.
From the outside looking in, this might look like a very curious contract extension. However, as Blue Jays fans know very well, there is a much larger back story to the whole Dustin McGowan situation.
I don't believe this contract is really about the money, and it really isn't about the duration of the contract either. It's about the Blue Jays showing their commitment to Dustin McGowan and vice versa.
Much like Travis Snider, Dustin McGowan's journey back to the Major Leagues has been a long and maligned one. He has encountered setback after setback, and yet McGowan is still battling and his long-awaited comeback is nearly complete.
There's no question it's a risky move to offer up two more years and potentially a third to a pitcher who only has one full season under his belt. Occasionally in this business, it's not about making shrews moves, and it's about doing the right thing.
For someone with the moniker of the "Silent Assassin", this was one move by Alex Anthopoulos that wasn't cold and calculated. It might be viewed as a smart signing by the Blue Jays, but this was more about being loyal to Dustin McGowan than it was the bottom line.
As perplexing as this contract extension may be, at least it locks up another member of the starting rotation long term. That means the Blue Jays now have three starters locked up through 2015 (pending they exercise Morrow and McGowan's options).
I don't understand why some folks are being critical of the Dustin McGowan contract extension. This is a no-risk move for the Blue Jays, and at this point they really don't have anything to lose. Frankly, neither does Dustin.
Yes, that money could very easily be spent elsewhere, and McGowan's roster spot could be filled in a heartbeat. With the wealth of starting pitching in the minor league system, there's a laundry list of candidates who could step in to that fifth starter's job.
But you know what? If the Blue Jays were going to spend all this time and effort getting Dustin McGowan back to the altar, they may as well go through the ceremony. They've come this far with McGowan, so why not just take the next step?
For someone who was nearly written off completely, it's incredible just how far Dustin McGowan has progressed these past few years. There must have been instances when he thought he'd never pitch in the Major Leagues ever again, and yet he's persevered and fought his way back.
From Dustin McGowan's perspective, I think he needed reassurance that the club was going to continue to support him. Why go through all
this rehabbing if the team is just going to cut him loose at the end of
the season?
Dustin now has that security and can focus on his rehab without wondering what might happen six months down the road. This contract extension is now the light at the end of the tunnel for Dustin McGowan.
Image courtesy of Toronto Star


text:
It's just after 9:00 am when Rachel Bennett greets her third period students as they file in for class. Bennett is a high school Spanish teacher at Perspectives Leadership Academy in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of Chicago. But this is the one class she teaches each day where nobody learns Spanish.
"Mostly what I do, I feel, is harass my kids to be their best selves at all times," Bennett says.
What Bennett does is teach a daily, 40-minute course designed by a nonprofit educational organization called OneGoal. What's interesting about OneGoal is that it pinpoints and targets low-income, underperforming students in non-selective Chicago Public Schools; students who are least likely to graduate high school, let alone college.
Jeff Nelson, co-founder and CEO of the program, lays out its impact thus far in Chicago.
"We're taking underperforming students that typically have a less than 10 percent chance of earning a bachelor's degree," he says. "And right now, 85 percent of our alumni in college are persistent."
OneGoal focuses on these students because, nationally, only 8 percent of ninth graders in low-income communities are expected to graduate college by age 25. That's in stark contrast to students in the top quarter of income, where 32 percent can be expected to finish college.
Nelson says the cornerstone of OneGoal's methodology begins with recruiting and training exceptional teachers – who in turn identify underperforming students with the least opportunity and the most potential.
"We believe and have seen empirical evidence that teachers matter most in education reform," he says.
And so, OneGoal has partnered with the Chicago Public Schools and is currently running courses in 23 of the district's schools. Their hope is to be inside 40 to 50 percent of all high schools in Chicago by 2017, and eventually, to expand nationally. The organization already has permission from the Board of Education in Houston, Texas to begin setting up shop in the city's schools.
Here's how it works. A teacher – who OneGoal has identified as somehow "exceptional" – takes on a group of 25 students and sticks with the same group for three years, beginning in junior year of high school. The teacher's instruction focuses on three pillars: prepping students for the ACT exam, guiding them as they apply to college, and helping them develop specific leadership skills.
"The five leadership principles that we spend time working on are professionalism, ambition, resilience, integrity and resourcefulness," Nelsons says. "The reason those five skills are important to us is because those five working in concert are predictive of success in college."
These character traits, Nelson says, often come naturally for students who've grown up in the city's roughest neighborhoods, and already have an inner strength unusual for their age.
"Oftentimes though those skill sets are not pinpointed as assets," he says. "Kids think that they walk into this environment with liabilities. We think it's completely opposite."
Once the students move on to college, they stay in regular contact with their OneGoal teacher through their first year. The aim here is not just to get the kids into college – but to equip them with the support system they need to finish.
"We've seen 20, 25 years of education reform in the United States," the young CEO says. "Almost all of it has been directed in pre-K through 12. So, we've seen a proliferation of charter schools, we've seen early childhood intervention work, we've seen human capital providers, we've seen big city mayors like Rahm take on education. Yet almost none of it has spilled over into higher education. And so, our country has begun to get college access right – but we see huge dropout rates in college."
Cynthia Barron is a coach with the University of Illinois at Chicago's principal training program. She has over 40 years of experience in Chicago Public Schools, including years as a principal herself. She says OneGoal's model works because, on a practical level, it helps students anticipate "what college life is about, what career readiness is about, what that life is going to be like when they graduate." Beyond that, she says, it gives kids a built-in network to turn to for support on the road to college graduation, despite obstacles that may stand in the way.
OneGoal student Anthony Halmon knows something about obstacles. Last year, his South Side community – Greater Grand Crossing – ranked fourth among 77 for the number of violent crimes. According to the latest census numbers, nearly 26 percent of households here are below the poverty line – and nearly one in five residents is unemployed.
By sophomore year, Halmon was getting into trouble. With a "C" average he was doing the bare minimum to get by – and he was a new father.
"Outside of school, I didn't do nothing," Halmon says. "[I] sat on my butt, played games, you know I didn't use a computer, I didn't use my time wisely. I just did ignorant things."
Rachel Bennett, Halmon's teacher, says that through self-motivation and the support of OneGoal, he's turned everything around.
"Last quarter, he had a 4.1 GPA with the weight of his AP Lit class," Bennett says. "So he's doing that all as a young father. [He] still takes care of his 2-year old, sees her every day, takes her to all her doctor's appointments."
Halmon says that OneGoal helped him connect the dots and approach his future with more intention.
"My OneGoal teacher, she always encouraged me, like, if you don't want to do nothing for yourself, then do something for your baby, make a life for her," he says. "You always want your child to have a better life than you already have, so it's like she's part of my motivation."
Today, Anthony is in the final running for a full-ride scholarship to Cornell University. It's the kind of ambition OneGoal hopes to instill in all of its students.
"If I don't leave and I stay here, it's still not going to do nothing for my family," he says. "So I'd rather go get an education and go start on my career, and bring that back towards them, so I can actually raise a family and take care of my daughter, take care of my mother also. I'm doing this for myself – [but] I'm also doing this for my family and people that I love."
Note (5/2/13): OneGoal student Anthony Halmon was accepted to Cornell University with a full scholarship. He'll begin his undergraduate studies there in the fall of 2013. In addition, Halmon recently met President Barack Obama at the White House's fourth-annual student science fair. The invention that got him there? A pacifier with a built-in thermometer and soothing gel, inspired by his young daughter. For more, read this story by The Root.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Facebook advertiser
get a way to reach out to your prospects on Facebook for free.
Ecommerce Seller
Sell to your customers again and again.
Build a valuable audience of your targeted clients & prospects you can reach anytime.
Product Vendors
Send product information and updates to customer inboxes
Facebook fan page owners
Get 100% reach for your messages every time.
Content Creator
Connect with your audience and send updates that reach them.
Go ahead, click on the button to the right and see how powerful Sitecontact is.
You'll imediately get an optin confirmation right inside Facebook.
Let me ask you a question.
For an average email marketer that's only 1200 opens per email, and less than 300 clicks. Effectively all you have is just 1200 people who are ready to look at your message?
There was a time when every email got attention. People processed each message and action or even inaction was a conscious decision.
Not anymore.
Nobody cares about email any more. Everyone logs into their emails for 5 minutes once a day, and
too many people don't go their inboxes for days on.
Everybody who means anything reaches them in ways other than email. Whatsapp, Facebook message, Instagram chat, Snapchat, Telegram… Anything but Email.
Email is just for official communication and for spam.
No wonder your open rates are falling every month and you're getting less and less action for every email you sent out.
Not if you could reach out to your customers where they really are.
Messenger is one of the most powerful instant messaging phenomenon online for businesses.
With 2.2 billion active monthly users on Facebook, Messenger's audience is really huge. In fact, at this very moment there are 1.3 billion with an ongoing conversation on Facebook Messenger right now.
Can you even process that number?
That's practically every adult with an Internet connection, purchase power and a will to go online.
See yourself how you get 100% inboxing.
Way better than email and every other lead-marketing method.
You know Internet Marketing winners are always fast movers. Capitalize and build on latest trends, extract the maximum benefit and advantage before the second-raters wake up and overwhelm the platform.
If you're not a fast-mover, then you're going to be a wannabe Second-rater.
This technology is HOT! Now you decide who's going to use it first, You or your competitor.
Don't let your competitor take over your business when getting the edge can be so ridiculously easy.
You'll see a list of all the pages in your account that you can add. Even add 100% new ones
Select how you want your visitors to optin. Every way is unique and easier than filling an Email optin form.
Install the optin code on your page just as you install the Email optin form. Copy & Paste. No custom work required.
Welcome your fresh subscribers on board. Deliver your free bonus, ebook or link.
Broadcast your message direct to Facebook messenger inbox. Even schedule a sequence if you want..
The dashboard gives you the complete details of how your list is growing. Keep tabs and grow forever.
Sitecontact gives you 4 powerful ways to get your visitor to optin. Each of them is unique, and every way is more powerful than forcing your client to fill a form and give out their name and Email address.
Your visitors click a simple checkbox to optin into your list and answer your message to optin.
Your visitors send you a message using a chatbox to optin. You can also carry forward the chat.
Your visitors click a 'Send to Messenger' button and send you a message to optin. You can also carry out a conversation on Messenger.
Your visitors click on a 'Message Us' button and send you a message to optin. You can also carry forward the conversation
People don't like to give out their email addresses anymore because they are afraid of spam. There is no such resistance in these powerful methods, so you'll always have more optins than you could ever get with just Email.
That's right, you can use the Checkbox Optin system on your email forms and you can get those leads on Facebook too. Get your email leads, and also get a 100% new powerful messaging system in addition.
Look at a sample below.
That's right, you can use the Checkbox Optin system on your email forms and you can get those leads on Facebook too. Get your email leads, and also get a 100% new powerful messaging system in addition
Your audience is on Facebook and they are more receptive to messages their.
Sitecontact is the only way you can reach out to them and make an impact with your message.
It is superior to every client communication system you've ever used in reach, inboxing and impact.
Don't wait too long because we won't be keeping the One-time price. Yes, it's going to recurring in a matter of days. Get it now or pay for it every month.
Making up your mind is hard, especially when it's a new technology that you haven't tried yet. Well, we really want you to have the first mover's advantage, and that's why we are prepared to bear all the risk.
Here's our guarantee!
Buy SiteContact, and use it for up to 30 days risk-free. If you don't like what it does for you and your business, just us know within 30 days through a support ticket at https://teknikforce.com/support and we will refund you 100% of the money!
Bad support can destroy your investment and happiness. When you buy from Teknikforce you get the guarantee of good quality support.
24 x 7 Live Chat Support Guarantee
We have 24 x 7 chat support here. Yes, if you ever have any issues using SiteContact, just come to this website and talk to our live support agent. We are always here to guide you.
24 Hours Ticket Response Guarantee
When you open a ticket with us, you'll get a guaranteed response within 24 hours.
Live Assistance Guarantee
Having trouble making something work? Our tech agents will help you on Skype and on Teamviewer / Ultraviewer to fix your problem.
You are our business. We take real good care of you.
Q. Can I run it anywhere?
A. Yes, this is a SAAS. It runs in your browser. You can run it on any OS and nearly every portable device that supports Internet access.
Q. How does my message inbox 100% of the time?
A. Your message reaches the Facebook Messenger inbox every time because that's what the Facebook API designed it to do. Yes, that's enabled by Facebook.
Q. What technology do you use to make this happen?
A. Facebook APIs and Facebook Messenger bot technology.
Q. Do I need to be an experienced marketer to use this?
A. If you know how to setup an email form, that's all. You'll find detailed tutorials inside that show you everything.


text:
A book worm is not just someone who loves to pick up an occasional book at times. It's not that easy to get entry into the prestigious ranks of Bookworms. Being a bookworm is hard! A bookworm eats sleeps and breathes books and reaches the abysmal depths of depression if she should happen to find herself without one! We Bookworms are tormented souls. If we are forced to keep our book down to attend to the unnecessary tasks of eating sleeping or working, our mind remain in turmoil as we wonder what will happen next in the book.
Bookworms are ingenious when it comes to reading. We have the ability to read anywhere. I have read while waiting in queues and while standing in buses being jostled by a 100 odd commuters. I have read books hidden under a blanket with the help of a torch when it was well past my bed time. I have read in the loo when my family thought I was in bed asleep. I have read as I waited for a surgery to happen and I have managed to block out post op pain with the help of a book. I even wanted to carry a book with me in the OT and read but the surgeon squashed that idea by putting me under a general anesthetic!
For a true bookworm books takes precedence over everything. My Nephew, who is just 8 sat through his Birthday Lunch with his nose buried in the book that we had just gifted him for his birthday. Now that is a true bookwork I tell you ! As children my brother I never fought over games but we fought about who will get to read the issue of Readers Digest or Target magazine first.
I remember Gerald Durrell's my family and Other Animals was one book I simply couldn't put down. I even took it to school and read it in my economics class hidden under the text book. I can't tell you much about the Theory of Demand and Supply but I can tell you all you want to know about Gerald Durrell's adventures In Corfu !
Bookworms become oblivious to everything else while they read. The characters in the book become real to us. We identify with them, live the life they are leading. Everything else is unreal. We get a reality shock when we finish a good book and finally emerge out to realize that a world actually exists beyond the book.
And no bookworm true to his name would never ever prefer a movie over a book. Although movies are a visual experience I feel books are better because when you read a book, unlike a movie you don't have to stick to the images shown to you. You can bring the characters and situations alive by using your own imagination!
No activity of ours is complete without a book. For us a comfortable couch has no meaning unless we have a book to curl up with. The aroma of steaming coffee is lost on us unless we have a book to read as sip it. We never venture out on a journey without a few books to read. A book is a perfect companion. You can never be alone as long as you have a book with you.
Books are my solace, my refuge, something I always turn to when I am feeling down. A book is pure happiness, something as essential as the air I breathe!


text:
Gluten-Free Spanish Rice Bake
Like Spanish rice? Try using brown rice and kick up the nutrition. |
One of the more popular recipe searches here at Gluten-Free Goddess is brown rice. And why not? It's naturally gluten-free. It's an excellent grain choice for the Mediterranean Diet and the South Beach Diet. It's good source of fiber for both sensitive tummies and hearty omnivore appetites. And it's a complementary protein for earthy vegan tastes.
Spanish Rice Bake Recipe with Brown Rice
Make this Southwestern-inspired rice dish as spicy or as mild as your taste buds prefer. We serve this as a vegan recipe, but if you love cheese, try topping it with fresh crumbled goat cheese.
2 cups organic brown rice- long or short grain
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 sweet or red onion, diced
1 sweet bell pepper- red, yellow, or orange
1 fresh yellow tomato, chopped
3/4 cup roasted or frozen corn kernels*
2 roasted or fresh green chiles of choice, seeded and chopped
2-3 tablespoons lime juice
Sea salt, to taste
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
A touch of cinnamon- my secret ingredient
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
A splash more of extra virgin olive oil to moisten the rice
1 14-oz can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles, with juice
First step:
Cook 2 cups raw brown rice- long or short grained- or a gourmet blend- in 5 cups fresh water. I use a rice cooker to do this, but you could easily cook the rice in a covered pot.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, chopped onion, sweet bell pepper, and cook for five minutes.
Add the fresh yellow tomato, roasted or frozen corn kernels, roasted or fresh green chiles, and lime juice, to taste. Stir-fry very briefly- just until crisp-tender (you want to soften- not cook- the veggies).
Remove from heat and set aside.
Note* To roast frozen corn, spread kernels on a baking sheet and roast at a high temperature until slightly charred; or pan roast them in a large dry skillet until sweet and toasty.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When the rice is cooked, assemble your casserole.
Spoon the cooked brown rice into a casserole dish. Add in and stir dashes (to taste) of: sea salt, chili powder, cumin, touch of cinnamon, and chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.
Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to moisten the rice. Stir.
Add the Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles and the skillet vegetables. Add fresh chopped herbs, to taste. Toss to combine.
Cover and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until the rice is piping hot and heated through.
Serves 6.


text:
Joel Roberts Poinsett
JOEL ROBERTS POINSETT was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on 2 March 1779; was educated by his father and the Reverend J. H. Thompson of Charleston; attended the academy of Timothy Dwight at Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, 1794; continued his studies abroad; visited Portugal for reasons of health; returned home to study law under H. W. De Saussure; toured Europe and Asia in 18011804 and 18061808; returned home amid indications of war with Great Britain; was a special agent to the South American states, 18101814; returned to South Carolina in 1815; served in the state legislature, 18161820; was chairman of the states Board of Public Works, 18181820; served in the U.S. House of Representatives, 18211825; served as a special envoy to Mexico, 18221823; was appointed the first American minister to Mexico, 1825, and became embroiled in the countrys political turmoil until his recall in 1830; returned to South Carolina to espouse the Unionist cause in nullification quarrels, 18301833; married Mary Izard Pringle, 1833; served as Secretary of War, 7 March 18375 March 1841; presided over the continuing removal of Indians west of the Mississippi and over the Seminole War; reduced the fragmentation of the Army by concentrating elements at central locations; equipped the light batteries of artillery regiments as authorized by the 1821 army organization act; again retired to his plantation at Georgetown, South Carolina, 1841; developed the poinsettia from a Mexican flower; was a founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts, 1840; died near Statesburg, South Carolina, on 12 December 1851.
The Artist
Army records note that Secretary Poinsetts portrait was painted by an unknown artist at an unknown place and date and was already in the departments possession when the portrait gallery project was launched in 1873, but records also indicate that Robert Walter Weir painted Poinsett for the collection. Although the Poinsett work seems to fall within the Weir style as seen in his portraits of Secretaries Monroe, Eaton, Spencer, and Wilkins, the lack of signature, date and substantive documentary record leaves the matter in doubt.
Van Buren Administration
By an unknown artist
Oil on canvas, 29½" x 24½", date unknown
page created 1 March 2001


text:
Scoring Leads and Using Lead Tokens
About the Webinar
Scoring is the key to targeted marketing. In this webinar, you will learn how to create scoring programs and rank leads accordingly. Whether you call them leads, people, or contacts, scoring permits you to measure how customers engage with your marketing programs. Combine that with customer data like location, title, or company and you can create a strong picture of buyer readiness.
Key topics covered include:
• Benefits of lead scoring
• Types of scoring – tracking activities, demographics and behavioral data
• Leveraging a sample scoring worksheet
• Using multiple scoring fields
• Creating common scoring campaigns
• Using scoring tokens
• Importing the scoring program from the program library
Duration: 28 minutes
Please share your contact information to view the webinar.


text:
Financial "To-Do" items
Often times, when I call someone they say to me "It's funny that you called, because I have been meaning to call you" or "You are on my To-Do list". I have heard these types of comments for many years. I have a theory about this. My theory is that just about everyone has important financial To-Do items sitting on their To-Do list.
Generally, the items at the very top of a To-Do list are items that are urgent, like fixing a leaking roof; or they have a looming deadline, like buying a birthday gift. Whereas, the financial To-Dos, such as "what should I do about college planning?", have a tendency to rest near the top because they are important but, just can't quite seem to get all the way to the top of the list because their deadline isn't just around the corner. Usually something has to happen to nudge that To-Do higher on the list, hopefully it isn't the fact that college suddenly has a looming deadline.
The definition of "To-Done"
When it is time for you to go to the dentist, you put that on your To-Do list. Once you have seen the dentist, you check it off – To-Done! Does that mean that you never go see the dentist again? Of course not. When it is time for you to set your next appointment, you will put it on the To-Do list again. The same holds true for financial planning – it isn't a one and done type of thing. While there are a few financial To-Do items that you do once and forget it, most financial topics need to be reviewed on a periodic basis. For example, portfolios need to be rebalanced, employee benefits have annual enrollment periods, taxes are filed once a year, etc.
There are a variety of reasons people don't tackle their financial To-Dos. Many people lack either the time, confidence, or desire to handle their finances, for those people, professional advisors are a good solution. And for others, who want to tackle some of this on their own, I hope to provide some simple To-Dos within some of my blog posts because I find it very encouraging as a financial advisor when I find consumers who have an interest in financial planning. I hope that these posts are of help to consumers that are looking for assistance from an advisor as well as consumers that are looking to manage their own financial affairs.


text:
The Royal Academy of the Basque Language (1919) is the official body responsible for Basque, that is the Basque language. It carries out research on the language and its object is to safeguard it; the Academy has formulated the rules for the normalisation of the language.
The Basque name of this language academy is Euskaltzaindia.


text:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United States has big problems with broadband access, speed and cost, but the Federal Communications Commission's solutions may be too weak to have any lasting impact.
The FCC on Tuesday announced its proposal to bring affordable high-speed Internet access to all Americans. Many of the recommendations are subject to congressional approval and others are long-term goals that the FCC hopes to achieve.
The problems the FCC hopes to solve: America's average download speeds of 4 megabits per second rank 15th in the world, according to the latest study from the Information Technology Industry Council. Although just 5% of Americans don't have access to high-speed Internet, 35% of Americans don't subscribe to a broadband provider due to high costs or lack of interest.
And a goldmine of spectrum that could be used to deliver wireless broadband to millions of potential customers is being held hostage by broadcasters who hold the rights to those airwaves, even though much of the spectrum is unused after they switched to digital signals.
The regulator's solutions: Among the myriad initiatives that the FCC proposed is a government investment of more than $15 billion in infrastructure to bring 100 megabit-per-second speeds to 100 million Americans by the end of the decade. That's fast enough to download an average high-definition movie in about three minutes.
Another part of the plan includes shifting funding from telephone infrastructure to broadband infrastructure to help the country achieve its goal of 90% adoption of high-speed Internet by 2020. And the FCC will ask broadcasters to voluntarily auction off unused spectrum for mobile broadband carriers to free up 500 megahertz of broadband spectrum over the next 10 years.
The FCC said expanding adoption of ultra-fast broadband speeds will have a tremendous economic benefit. The agency, as well as other proponents said it will enable businesses to increase productivity, lower costs by making government and health care data more accessible and efficiently transferred and give low-income Americans equal access to new economic opportunities.
Last decade's broadband innovations helped create companies like Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Facebook and Twitter. The FCC says small businesses and entrepreneurs also have much to gain from the plan, which would help increase efficiency, improve access to new markets, cut costs and boost the speed of transactions and communication.
But many broadband experts were skeptical of the plan.
"The breakthrough in the plan is that it's an admission that the United States has fallen behind and that we lack a unified plan to address it," said Dan Hays, partner at wireless and tech consultancy PRTM. "But the FCC plan lacks the teeth to effectively implement the full range of recommendations they put forward."
Hays said the FCC's plan is "potentially unachievable" given the complexity of the tasks it outlined. He said freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum nationwide is "completely unrealistic," and it is unclear how the FCC plans to pay for all of its initiatives.
Others said the FCC would have to increase its regulatory authority over broadband providers to achieve its goals, something the cable and wireless companies have already said they'd fight.
"The FCC's going to have a very, very difficult time from an authoritative standpoint dictating anything about a particular speed at a particular price," said Doug Williams, broadband analyst at Forrester Research. "If they tried to assert that authority, they would find themselves in court very quickly. The telcos and cable operators are powerful lobbies and they're not going to let that happen."
Williams said the FCC can't do much more than set goals for the providers, which the government regulator will have to hope they adhere to.
At the same time, some say the existing model was faring well, and the high-speed Internet providers were already largely providing faster and cheaper access on their own.
"A relatively minimal regulatory environment led to 95% of the country to have access and choice in broadband," said Bruce Mehlman, co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance. "The FCC's goals are achievable provided there aren't other regulatory actions that dissuade investment."
Speeds are generally growing faster, and many broadband providers already offer speeds of 50 megabits per second or more. But at prices that generally cost more than $100 per month, some experts say those speeds are more of a gimmick.
"Ultra-high speed offerings are a marketing game for operators, helping them say they offer the fastest service," said Williams. "The price tag for those services is not conducive to the average consumer, since they don't see the value in paying that much more for that kind of speed."
Still, there has been some action to reduce prices and make ultra-high speed Internet more prevalent. For instance, Verizon Fios' second-tier Internet plan offers speeds of up to 25 megabits per second for $65 per month.
In anticipation of the FCC's plan, Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Google made announcements in the past few weeks, each touting their ability to provide blazingly fast Internet service. Earlier this month, Google said it would test a 1 gigabit broadband network in a U.S. city, and Cisco unveiled a new router that will be able to download the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in 1 second.
Some doubt the need for all that speed, but the FCC claims that it is necessary to meet the future demands of businesses and consumers.
In the end, advocates say the FCC plan is a good start, but more needs to be done to address the serious problem of the United States lagging the world in cost and speed.
"The United States needs to step it up and see what's been going on around the world," said James Losey, program associate in the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation. "The challenge is we don't have competition: Most markets are duopolies."
Index | Last | Change | % Change |
Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
Company | Price | Change | % Change |
Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More |
Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More |
Honda and General Motors are creating a new generation of fully autonomous vehicles. More |
In 1998, Ntsiki Biyela won a scholarship to study wine making. Now she's about to launch her own brand. More |
Whether you hedge inflation or look for a return that outpaces inflation, here's how to prepare. More |


text:
The forms listed below may be used for filing in the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas. The Court strongly recommends that persons obtain legal counsel, however in the event persons decide to pursue actions without counsel, these forms may prove useful. It is the Petitioner's responsibility to ensure that:
- All forms are filled in completely, clearly and legibly. Information that cannot be understood could result in a dismissal of the Petition. Supporting documentation should be attached to the Petition.
- Petitioners are responsible for the payment of filing fees. If persons believe they cannot afford filing fees they must file Petition for In Forma Pauperis and obtain an order directing the waiver of filing fees.
- Petitioner must serve all parties involved in the case with a copy of the petition and a copy of any scheduling Order that may arise from the Petition.
Legal Advice
Personnel from the Prothonotary's Office or Court Administration may not offer legal advice and cannot assist you beyond providing access to the forms. Again, obtaining legal counsel is strongly recommended. For information on Wayne County Legal Aid and the Wayne County Pro Bono program call Northern Pennsylvania Legal Services at 877-953-4250. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts maintains a comprehensive listing of legal forms for the public, self-litigants, law enforcement and the judiciary. Additional Family Court forms and pro se assistance can be found at the Pennsylvania Law Help website.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania provides standardized forms and instruction sheets that individuals may use when filing for divorce. Those documents may be found on their website.


text:
There is an article on InfoWorld today listing the author's 10 favorite FOSS applications for Windows. One of the great things about Open Source is that someone can take that source code and compile it for another platform. These free programs are a great way to spread the word about the vast world of Free Open Source Software that is available to today's computer user. As users get accustomed to using these non-proprietary programs, it becomes much easier for them to make the transition to Linux.
InfoWorld's List
Here are the items that were on the list at InfoWorld.
- FileZilla FTP Client
- VirtualBox
- OpenOffice.org
- Mozilla Firefox
- Paint.net
- Media Player Classic
- TrueCrypt
- PDFCreator
- 7-Zip
- ClamWin
My List
The above list is pretty good, but I thought some of the choices were a bit odd. I haven't used FileZilla, I just don't often have the need for an FTP client. If I were doing major web development, then maybe, but most hosting providers have a web based uploader that meets my needs. On the rare occasion that I do need FTP, there's always the good old command line interface.
Here's my version in no particular order.
- VirtualBox - I use VirtualBox on Linux. It's great for trying out new distros or firing up Windows when I have the occasional need. This is a great way to introduce people to Linux through a virtual machine. You wouldn't believe the number of people I've run across who are afraid that a Linux Live CD is going to wipe out their hard drive. I guess years of malware bombardment have instilled in them a healthy level of fear. VirtualBox is as good or better than VMware, and it's free.
- AbiWord - OpenOffice.org is a great office suite, but I think I'll get few arguments that it's a pig on memory. It's just downright slow to start up. Although AbiWord does not provide the level of sophistication and features of OOo, it opens up in a snap and it provides what I typically need for word processing. Like OOo, it provides it's own PDF exporter, so no need for PDFCreator.
- Gnumeric - Similar to AbiWord, Gnumeric just opens up in a snap and provides the features I need in a spreadsheet program. It also includes the capability to export to PDF.
- Mozilla Firefox - What can I say, I use Firefox every day. It's much faster than IE (I know, Chrome and Safari kick the pants off of it) and the extensions available are just invaluable. The extensions are where Firefox really shines.
- GIMP - Admittedly, I've never used Paint.net, but GIMP just outright kicks butt. I'm told that it's not on par with Photoshop, but it's capable of far more than I know how to do. I think many of the complaints about GIMP are from Photoshop users who don't like the fact that GIMP does things a bit differently. GIMP is an amazing program. What's more amazing is that it's free!
- VLC Media Player - I haven't used Media Player Classic, but one thing the author mentioned about it is also true about VLC. VLC will play just about any multimedia file you throw at it without the need to install additional codecs.
- TrueCrypt - I haven't used this. I use Cryptkeeper on Linux. As it's described on InfoWorld, TrueCrypt sounds like a good application and I'll have to check it out.
- BitPim - Want to create your own ringtones for your mobile phone? How about back up your contact list, or download the photos from your phone? BitPim works on both Linux and Windows and works with a large variety of mobile phones.
- 7-Zip - I totally agree on this one. I ran across 7-Zip on SourceForge a number of years ago. It turned out to be a great alternative to WinZip or WinRAR. 7-Zip is the program that taught me "when you're looking for a program that does ___, go to SourceForge."
- ClamWin - I haven't used this Windows version of ClamAV, but the Linux version of Clam AntiVirus has successfully cleaned up infected Windows hard drives for me when AVG for Linux failed.
- Deluge - This is a great BitTorrent client. Although the torrent scene is off the radar screen of typical users, this is one of the best ways to download a Linux distro to try; especially if you are trying to download it just after a new version has been released. Also, if you can wait a day to watch a missed TV show, then who needs a DVR when there's BitTorrent. The most popular shows are out in torrents only a few hours after they air. Deluge has a clean interface and supports stream encryption and block lists among other things. This one can give the proprietary ?Torrent a run for it's money.
So that's my list. These programs can be a great way to introduce your friends and family to Free Open Source Software. You may even get a few of them to switch to Linux eventually.
Don't see your favorite FOSS Windows program? Leave a comment.


text:
Age of Wushu (Wulin in EU) represents a completely new style of a Chinese martial-art MMORPG! Instead of the traditional fantasy genre based on elves, dragons and orcs, as seen in many other MMORPGs, the story of Age of Wulin - Legend of the Nine Scrolls is set in medieval China and based on the lore surrounding martial arts and the brave adventurers who practice it. This allows players to meet online and roleplay in an exciting and new fantasy setting, supported by top community functions and all the features you would expect to see in any major MMORPG and more.
NO Levels, NO Classes: Learn your opponents' true strength by fighting them. Proceed with caution as a simple street beggar may be a traveling Grand Master in disguise!
Random NPC Encounter System: Some events you experience are based on your dealings with NPCs and your character's overall reputation. Expect the unexpected!
8 Martial Arts Schools: Players must align with one of 8 schools to learn a combat style. However those greedy for wisdom can risk breaking into rival schools to steal their secrets. Or if you are in the know of a Wushu master, you can seek apprenticeship for further training.
Counter Combat System: Players must anticipate their opponent's moves and counter them to be truly successful warriors. Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy are vital to victory.
6 Unique Story Lines: Become the protagonist of your own story, and pave your own path to glory. Learn from 17 professions and master the art of aerial combat to become the ultimate Wushu Master. Or train offline in one of 30 offered activities that turn your character into an NPC while you're away!


text:
In order to ensure clarity in application of the District's religious expression policy, the following guidelines have been developed and implemented.
Prayer During Noninstructional Time
Students are permitted to engage in religious expression during noninstructional time, i.e., before school, after school, during lunch and recess and while not engaged in school activities. Religious expressions permitted include Bible reading, prayer, scripture reading, saying grace before meals. However, the exercise of constitutional rights of religious expression may not be engaged in when the expression disrupts educational activities or school-sponsored activities. The decision to participate or not participate in religious expression is a matter of individual choice. No student will be permitted to harass or intimidate other students to participate or refrain from participating in religious expression.
Access of Student Religious Groups to School Media
Religious related student groups will be given the same access to school facilities and school communications as are given to other noncurricular student groups. For example, and to the extent that noncurricular student groups are permitted to advertise in school media, participate in school announcements, make use of student activity bulletin boards and hand out leaflets announcing group activities, religious related groups will be given the same privileges. In all instances, the District maintains the right to control the means and timing of such activities. In all such matters, the District neither favors nor disfavors religious related student groups or the activities sponsored by such groups.
Release Time for Religious Activities
Upon written parental request, students may be released from school to participate in off-premises religious instruction or to satisfy religious obligations. Students who are released from class for religious activities will not be penalized for missing school. However, such students will be responsible for all assignments and for the content of lessons missed. The District will not provide transportation to or from off-premises for religious observances and will not be responsible for the safety or welfare of students while away from school.
Religious Expression in Class Assignments
Students are free to express their personal beliefs about religion in homework assignments, artwork or other written or oral assignments. Such assignments will be evaluated by teachers based upon academic standards of substance, quality and relevance. Students will neither be rewarded nor penalized because of the religious content or lack of religious content in their assignments.
Student Assemblies and Extracurricular Activities
Generally, school administrators will determine or substantially control the content of what is expressed at student assemblies and at extracurricular activities. In such cases religious expression will not be permitted as the religious expression may be attributed to the school or seen as an endorsement of a particular religious belief or expression. However, in instances where students are selected to speak at assemblies based upon neutral selection criteria and where the student speaker has primary control over the content of his/her oral presentation, the school will not restrict the student speech because of its religious or anti-religious content. In such cases, school authorities will publicly clarify that the content of the student's speech is the speaker's and not the school's.
Prayer at Graduation/Baccalaureate Ceremonies
Where students or other graduation speakers are selected on the basis of neutral criteria and retain control over the content of their speech, the content of the speech will not be restricted because of the religious or anti-religious content of the speech. The school disclaims responsibility for such speech - neither encouraging nor discouraging its content. However, neither District nor school officials may direct or encourage prayer at graduation or select speakers because of the expectation that such speakers will include religious expressions in their speech.
To the extent that the District makes its facilities and related services available to private groups, the District will provide similar access and on similar terms to private groups for a baccalaureate ceremony. The District and the school will not mandate student attendance nor participate in the organization of the ceremony. School employees are free to attend but will not be required to attend the private baccalaureate ceremony.
Religious Activities of School Employees
When not engaging in work-related activities, i.e., before school or during lunch, school employees may take part in religious activities such as prayer or Bible study. Such activities should be conducted in private in order to avoid the appearance that the employees are acting in their employment responsibilities. School employees are prohibited from encouraging or discouraging religious expression and from actively participating in religious expression with students.
Religious Emblems or Garments
School personnel shall not require students to remove religious emblems or garments if they are worn in a non-disruptive manner
Certification of Compliance
The District will provide annual written certification of compliance that the District does not maintain any policy that prevents or denies participation in constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools. This certification will be provided to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on or by October 1 annually. A copy of the certification will be maintained in the District's administration office and will be available for public review.


text:
Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems 1
Module PH2027
Module version of WS 2017/8
There are historic module descriptions of this module. A module description is valid until replaced by a newer one.
Whether the module's courses are offered during a specific semester is listed in the section Courses, Learning and Teaching Methods and Literature below.
available module versions | |||||
Basic Information
PH2027 is a semester module in English language at Master's level which is offered in winter semester.
This Module is included in the following catalogues within the study programs in physics.
- Specific catalogue of special courses for condensed matter physics
- Specific catalogue of special courses for Biophysics
- Specific catalogue of special courses for Applied and Engineering Physics
- Complementary catalogue of special courses for nuclear, particle, and astrophysics
- Specialization Modules in Elite-Master Program Theoretical and Mathematical Physics (TMP)
If not stated otherwise for export to a non-physics program the student workload is given in the following table.
Total workload | Contact hours | Credits (ECTS) |
150 h | 60 h | 5 CP |
Responsible coordinator of the module PH2027 in the version of WS 2017/8 was Katharina Krischer.
Content, Learning Outcome and Preconditions
This module introduces the basic concepts enabling an understanding of the emergence of cooperative phenomena that are intrinsic to low-dimensional nonlinear systems. The phenomena discussed range from bistable behavior, via sustained oscillations to deterministic chaos. After a historical overview and an introduction into the ideas of nonlinearity and phase space, the lecture follows a classification of dynamical systems according to their phase space dimension, i.e. complexity of the solutions. First, stability and bifurcations of fixed points in one-dimensional systems are discussed. Then oscillations and their emergence in a 2-dimensional phase space are examined. After a discussion of bifurcations of limit cycles and introduction of the Poincare-section and Poincare maps, chaotic dynamics is studied. This includes characterization of chaotic attractors through invariant measures (different dimensions), Lyapunov exponents, routes to chaos and the characterization of experimental, chaotic time series.
Throughout the lecture examples and applications from all fields of natural sciences are discussed, stressing the interdisciplinary aspect of the subject. In the tutorial, the students analyse themselves simple nonlinear equations, applying the techniques introduced in the lecture, and are familiarized with state of the art dynamical systems software.
Learning Outcome
After participation in the module the students are familiar with the concepts of nonlinear dynamical systems, the differences to linear systems and modern techniques to analyse nonlinear ordinary differential equations. They are able to:
- explain the geometrical approach to dynamical systems and the concepts of stability and bifurcations
- perform a phase space analysis envoking dynamical systems tools (programs)
- perform a 1- and 2- dimensional bifurcation analysis of a set of coupled ordinary differential equations using continuation software
- explain the different routes to low-dimensional deterministic chaos and characterize chaotic dynamics in terms of the most important invariant measures.
No preconditions in addition to the requirements for the Master's program in Physics.
Courses, Learning and Teaching Methods and Literature
Courses and Schedule
Type | SWS | Title | Lecturer(s) | Dates | Links |
VO | 2 | Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems 1 | Krischer, K. |
Fri, 12:00–14:00, PH HS2 |
eLearning |
UE | 2 | Exercise to Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems 1 |
Lee, S.
Responsible/Coordination: Krischer, K. |
Fri, 14:00–16:00, PH 2271 |
eLearning |
Learning and Teaching Methods
The module consists of a lecture and an exercise.
In the thematically structured lecture the learning content is presented. With cross references between different topics the universal concepts in nonlinear dynamics are shown. In scientific discussions the students are involved to stimulate their analytic-physics intellectual power.
In the exercise the learning content is deepened and exercised using problem examples and state of the art programs for system analysis. Thus the students are able to explain and apply the learned physics knowledge independently.
Blackboard, powerpoint, videos, textbook, complementary literature, exercises in individual and group workpractise sheets.
- St. H. Strogatz: Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, CRC Press, (2000)
- J. Argyris, G. Faust, M. Haase & R. Friedrich: An Exploration of Dynamical Dystems and Chaos, Springer, (2015)
- J.M.T. Thompson & H.B. Stewart: Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, Wiley, (2002)
- E. Ott: Chaos in Dynamical Systems, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, (2002)
- P. Berge, Y. Pomeau & Ch. Vidal: Order within Chaos: towards a deterministic approach to turbulence, Wiley, (1986)
- J. D. Murray: Mathematical Biology I, Springer, (2007)
Module Exam
Description of exams and course work
There will be an oral exam of 30 minutes duration. Therein the achievement of the competencies given in section learning outcome is tested exemplarily at least to the given cognition level using comprehension questions .
For example an assignment in the exam might be:
- Discuss the qualitative differences of oscillations in linear and nonlinear systems.
- Explain the necessary properties of a dynamical system exhibiting deterministic chaos.
- What is a bifurcation?
In the exam no learning aids are permitted.
Participation in the exercise classes is strongly recommended since the exercises prepare for the problems of the exam and rehearse the specific competencies.
Remarks on associated module exams
The exam for this module can be taken together with the exam to the associated follow-up module PH2028: Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems 2 / Nichtlineare Dynamik und komplexe Systeme 2 after the follwoing semester. In this case you need to register for both exams in the following semester.
Exam Repetition
The exam may be repeated at the end of the semester. There is a possibility to take the exam in the following semester.
Current exam dates
Currently TUMonline lists the following exam dates. In addition to the general information above please refer to the current information given during the course.
Title | |||
Time | Location | Info | Registration |
Exam to Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems 1 | |||
Mon, 2024-02-05 till 23:55 | Dummy-Termin. Wenden Sie sich zur individuellen Terminvereinbarung an die/den Prüfer(in). Anmeldung für Prüfungstermin vor 23.03.2024. // Dummy date. Contact examiner for individual appointment. Registration for exam date before 2024-Mar-23. | till 2024-01-15 (cancelation of registration till 2024-02-04) | |
Mon, 2024-03-25 till 23:55 | Dummy-Termin. Wenden Sie sich zur individuellen Terminvereinbarung an die/den Prüfer(in). Anmeldung für Prüfungstermin zwischen 25.03.2024 und 20.04.2024. // Dummy date. Contact examiner for individual appointment. Registration for exam date between 2024-Mar-25 and 2024-Apr-20. | till 2024-03-24 |


text:
Aaron Swartz: Suicide or Murder?
Written by Stephen Lendman Subject: Philosophy: Fascismby Stephen Lendman
Advocates of online openness and freedom lost a committed champion. The Economist said to call him "gifted would be to miss the point. As far as the internet was concerned, he was the gift."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation called him an "Internet freedom rock star."
An official family statement called him "(o)ur beloved brother, son, friend, and partner….We are in shock, and have not yet come terms with his passing."
His "insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable - these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter."
"Aaron's commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life. He was instrumental to the defeat of an Internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open, and accountable political system; and he helped to create, build, and preserve a dizzying range of scholarly projects that extended the scope and accessibility of human knowledge."
"He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place."
"His deeply humane writing touched minds and hearts across generations and continents. He earned the friendship of thousands and the respect and support of millions more."
"Aaron's death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach."
"Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts US Attorney's office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney's office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims."
"Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community's most cherished principles."
"Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost."
Lawrence Lessig is an academic, political activist, online freedom proponent, former University of Chicago/Harvard Law School Professor, and current Professor of Law at Stanford. He founded the school's Center for Internet and Society.
He knew Aaron as a friend and lawyer. On January 13, he headlined "Prosecutor as Bully," saying:
Whatever Aaron did wasn't for personal gain. He did what he thought right. JSTOR understood. "They declined to pursue their own action against Aaron."
They asked prosecutors to drop charges. "MIT, to its great shame, was not as clear."
Prosecutors took full advantage. They got the excuse they wanted to target Aaron. They wrongfully criminalized him.
"From the beginning, the government worked as hard as it could to characterize what Aaron did in the most extreme and absurd way."
It suggested he downloaded academic and scholarly articles for profit.
"But anyone who says that there is money to be made in a stash of ACADEMIC ARTICLES is either an idiot or a liar. It was clear what this was not, yet our government continued to push as if it had caught the 9/11 terrorists red-handed."
"Aaron had literally done nothing in his life 'to make money.' " Whatever he earned wasn't by intent.
"(W)e live in a world where the architects of the financial crisis, (notorious despots, and other scoundrels) regularly dine at the White House."
"(W)hy (was) Aaron labeled a 'felon?' " Prosecutors bled him dry. "(W)e need to get beyond the 'I'm right so I'm right to nuke you' ethics that dominates our time."
"That begins with one word: shame. One word, and endless tears."
A previous article questioned the official suicide story. It quoted Aaron extensively in his own words. It asked if he sounded like someone planning suicide.
He advocated online openness and freedom. He called information "power." He wanted it in the public domain. He wanted everyone able to share it freely and openly. Failure is "too high a price to pay," he said.
It's "outrageous and unacceptable," he added. Possessors of information are obligated to share it. They're morally bound not to "keep this privilege for (them)selves."
"(S)haring isn't immoral - it's a moral imperative. Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy."
"Large corporations….are blinded by greed." Politicians are "bought off to back them." Legislation follows. It's immoral and unjust.
"There is no justice in following unjust laws. It's time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture."
Aaron advocated open access. He wanted information everyone has the right to know made public. Download them from scientific journals, he urged. Upload them to file sharing networks.
Make privatization of knowledge a thing of the past. He asked everyone to join him in a struggle for what's right. He did it because it matters.
He paid with his life. New York's medical examiner allegedly conducted an autopsy. He pronounced death by "hang(ing) himself in his Brooklyn apartment."
A previous article said lingering suspicions remain. Why would someone with so much to give end it all this way? Why would he throw it away?
Why was no private autopsy and forensic examination done? Why aren't questions raised about a potential coverup? Why isn't independently determined full disclosure demanded?
Prosecutors notoriously lie. Medical examiners help them. So do media scoundrels.
Did Aaron take his own life or was he murdered? America has a dark history of eliminating noted figures it wants silenced.
Aaron perhaps is the latest. His death raises obvious suspicions. He appears a victim of capitalist greed. His open access advocacy had to be silenced. What better way than by making murder look like suicide.
Was he drugged and then hanged? Was eliminating him planned long ago? Was it done to avoid protracted headline-making trial proceedings?
Many of Aaron's global followers would have reported them daily. Doing so would have revealed prosecutorial injustice. Dark forces perhaps decided not to risk it.
Prosecutors hounded him. His attorney, Elliot Peters, accused them of doing it to gain publicity. They cooked up alleged computer crimes against him.
They targeted his advocacy for what's right. They wanted him silenced. They wanted him put away for decades. They wanted him out of sight and mind.
They crossed ethical and moral lines, said Lessig. They did what they did because they can. They made him a martyr in the process. He's internationally recognized for fighting for what's right.
Internet freedom is at stake. In 2008, candidate Obama promised to "(s)upport the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."
As president he's waged war to destroy it. He wants open access advocates criminalized. He calls doing so investing in America's future. He wants censorship replacing First Amendment rights.
He and likeminded Washington extremists support an alphabet soup of federal and international freedom-destroying measures.
Various cybersecurity acts threaten constitutional freedoms. SOPA, PIPA, CISPA, ACTA, and TPP are stealth pro-corporate, anti-populist schemes.
Secrecy and misbranding conceal their harshness. Activists know what's going on and say so. At issue is unchallenged global corporate empowerment regulation free.
Internet freedom, popular rights, and national sovereignty are too important to lose. They're on the chopping block for elimination.
Profits alone matter. Compromising civil liberties is a small price to pay. So are public knowledge, privacy, and other fundamental rights free societies should champion. Democratic values are too important to lose.
Obama has other ideas in mind. Aaron and likeminded open access advocates challenged him. Doing so targeted him for elimination. Others are likewise threatened.
Doing the right thing is dangerous. Everyone involved is closely monitored. FBI, CIA and other national security files are maintained.
Lawless warrantless surveillance watches like Big Brother. Phones are tapped. Emails and other private communications are monitored, collected and stored. Stealth videos at times are used. There's no place to hide.
Doing the right thing is hazardous. America's unfit to live in. For many, it's dangerous. Other Western societies operate the same way. The best, brightest and most dedicated are targeted.
Some are marked for elimination. Odds suggest Aaron was one. A fitting epitaph should read killed by capitalist greed.
He's gone but by no means forgotten. Others continue his struggle for open access justice. Doing so is the only chance to have it. The alternative is too intolerable to accept.
A Final Comment
On January 15, Russia Today said Massachusetts federal court charges were dropped. Why pursue a dead man. A simple statement read:
"Pursuant to FRCP 48(a), the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Carmen M. Ortiz, hereby dismisses the case presently pending against Defendant Aaron Swartz."
"In support of this dismissal, the government states that Mr. Swartz died on January 11, 2013."
Omitted was full disclosure about how and most important why. Aaron was no ordinary Internet freedom advocate. His prominence made him a marked man. It cost him his life.
JSTOR didn't press charges. MIT pursued a civil suit. Repercussions remain ongoing.
On January 14, the global hacktivist collective, Anonymous, broke into MIT's website. It replaced its front page. A simple line read: "In Memoriam, Aaron Swartz."
A statement followed. It called the Justice Department's prosecution "a grotesque miscarriage of justice" and "a distorted and perverse shadow of the justice that Aaron died fighting for."
"We call for this tragedy to be a basis for a renewed and unwavering commitment to a free and unfettered Internet, spared from censorship with equality of access and franchise for all," it added.
Aaron grew up in suburban Chicago. On January 11, he died in his Brooklyn apartment. He was 26 years old.
On January 15, suburban Chicago's Highland Park Central Avenue Synagogue was filled to capacity.
Family, friends and supporters came to honor him. Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman spoke for others, saying "Aaron wanted so badly to change the world. He wanted it more than money. He wanted it more than fame."
"When things are hard - and he said it is the important things that are hard - you have to lean into the pain."
Does that sound like someone planning suicide?
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at email@example.com.
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.


text:
With the Email Remote destination, you can send files as email attachments.
Note: With most email servers, attachments are typically limited to about 10 MB in size, so only smaller backups can typically be sent this way.
Adding Email as a Remote Destination
- Once on the Remote Destinations page, click the +Add New button to add your email destination.
- From the Add New Destination page, configure the following destination settings:
- Destination name - Name of the new destination to create. This is for your convenience only.
- Email address - [Example: firstname.lastname@example.com] - Email address for this destination.
- Once you've entered all of your settings, Test Settings to verify with a test email and then click the +Add Destination button.
- Your new location will now show on the Remote Destinations page in BackupBuddy. If you need to change your settings, click the gear symbol to the right of the destination.


text:
SNOW HILL – Despite a strong turnout from anti-spoil neighbors, the private dredge spoil site in Friendship will go forward after the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) granted a requested variance.
Sand must be dredged out of the Marsh Harbor canal, owned by variance applicant Whaley Brittingham, to keep it navigable for sportfishing boats. The spoil would be dumped on 1.5 acres of a 56-acre parcel in Friendship Village.
During the lengthy discussion at the Feb. 14 meeting, both the applicant and the anti-spoil site neighbors presented their cases, pro and con, but villagers did not have the evidence of harm to prevail against the applicant's experts.
Applicant Whaley Brittingham's consultants testified there would be little to no traffic impact, no harm to neighborhood wells and no reduction in property values from the private dredge spoil site.
Villagers were not mollified, however, and at least 30 attended the BZA meeting, with several making impassioned pleas to the BZA to consider the negative impact of the dredge spoil site on Friendship village over the course of a nearly three-hour discussion.
"We're not against the project. We're against where the spoil is to be dumped. We feel that's our backyard," said Norman Cathell, Sr., chosen by the villagers to represent them. "Are we going to end up with a large mountain in Friendship? I hope not."
"It's being ruined," said Linda Brown, who grew up on Friendship Rd. "I don't like what's going on. It's not necessary."
Villagers are concerned that run-off from the drying spoil will contaminate wells and groundwater, although the applicant describes the spoil as just sand.
"We find that hard to believe," said Cathell. "When you go back 2,115 feet, you're in marsh. That marsh is going to be dumped in Friendship."
The sand to be dredged has not been tested or examined by the Health Department.
"With the amount of buffer around the site, the material, that is characterized as sandy material from the dredge area, there really should be no environmental impact on the surrounding wells," said James Dieter, environmental impact consultant.
The spoil site is over 300 feet from the nearest property line, according to Brittingham's attorney, Mark Cropper.
Although daycare operator Gail West's business is a mile from the dredge spoil site, she said she is concerned about water contamination though groundwater or through spills from spoil-carrying dump trucks. Daycares must test wells quarterly for a three page long list of contaminants, she said.
Traffic was also on West's agenda. "It's a bad road," she said.
Increased truck traffic could be dangerous, several villagers felt.
"We are really concerned about the highway safety," said Cathell, who added 30 school buses travel Friendship road daily.
"It boils down to one truck an hour maximum," said Wes Guckert, president of the Traffic Group, with two trucks an hour at optimal efficiency. "You would not even notice it from a traffic point of view or a capacity point of view."
Reggie Mason, recently retired chief deputy of the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, told the BZA that he had to put an officer at the sand pit on Cropper Island Rd. every day because of the truck traffic.
"That is a bad intersection," he said of Route 50 and Friendship Rd.
Someone needs to make sure Brittingham and the dredge contractor are complying with dump limits, hours of use, and other restrictions, said Mason.
"I'm concerned about who's going to police this project. Planning and Zoning is not doing their job," he said.
"How do we know when they hit their limit?" neighbor Dan Cathell asked. "Who do we contact when there's a problem with it?"
MDE polices the amount of fill, said Cropper, and other matters can be taken to Zoning Administrator Kelly Henry in the Development Review and Permitting department.
Cropper and Brittingham agreed at last week's community meeting to consider alternate spoil dumping sites if any could be identified.
"The dump in Berlin is an alternative site. The Bishopville [wetland restoration] project, as we understand it, is approaching and they would take the spoil," Cathell said.
There are no other dredge sites in Worcester County still active.
There is a possibility that 15 to 20 surface mines in Worcester County could take dredge spoils, Henry said.
Cropper said alternate sites have been discussed with staff.
"The problem is there is a cost associated with that and that needs to be addressed," he said. "There are also neighbors up around [the Bishopville] site that will probably have some of the same concerns."
He added, "We did say we'd consider other sites and we will as they come to fruition. … The only dredge spoil to go on this site is from the canal at Marsh Harbor."
Spoil may not be deposited on the site after the dredging is complete. "We're looking at a way to stabilize the canal on a permanent basis," said Brittingham.
The spoil material will be planted when dried, probably with pine trees.
Neighbor Harry Mitchell said that Brittingham wanted to dump material on what he characterized as very wet land, to improve it. Water from the property runs-off onto his, Mitchell said.
The dredge site is about 1,000 feet from the cleared area on Mitchell's property, Cropper said, which is already sub-divided for development.
"All Mr. Brittingham is asking to do is put some dredge spoil on his," said Cropper.
Despite the passion of the speakers and their conviction that dredge spoil would ruin their neighborhood, the villagers had little to offer the BZA besides their opinion.
"Maryland law requires you prove by evidence that the environmental harm at this site is greater than other sites in the county," said BZA member James Clubb.
The protests made enough of an impact to prompt Clubb's motion for a continuance to allow the villagers to retain experts.
Cropper protested at once. "Immediately upon the application being filed and this property's being posted I was contacted by some of the property owners," he said.
Brittingham, Marsh Harbor Homeowners' Association President Reese Cropper III and attorney Cropper met with the community last Friday as well, the attorney pointed out.
"In their defense, they didn't know what the law was until you and I talked about it right now," said Clubb. "In my experience, the general public thinks they can come in here and voice concerns and somehow the weight of those concerns will matter with this board."
Cropper the burden of the impact has not been met.
"Since this is a special exception the opposition have the obligation to prove there is a burden here, an impact here, that the impact is greater here," Cropper said.
The law also requires the applicant prove his case, Cropper said. "I believe we've done that and then some."
A delay and another appearance before the BZA would be unfair, the attorney said.
"These gentlemen are going to be burdened by the additional cost of coming back here," Cropper said.
"You've also come before this board and asked for a continuance," Clubb said.
The last item on that night's agenda was in fact a continuance Cropper asked for an earlier case, he pointed out.
Clubb made the motion for a continuance, but the action failed, with only Clubb and BLA member Joe Fehrer voting for the delay.
A subsequent motion to grant the variance allowing the dredge spoil site passed 4-1, with Fehrer dissenting.


text:
Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG Parts
- Mercedes-Benz
- Exterior Body
- Mercedes-Benz
- Engine
- Mercedes-Benz
- Brake
- Mercedes-Benz
- Suspension
Mercedes Shock Absorber Kit - Bilstein 1663200130
Mercedes Airmatic Strut Kit - Bilstein 26-251691
- Mercedes-Benz
- Air Intake
- Mercedes-Benz
- Fuel System
Mercedes Benz C36 AMG
The first vehicle to ever be produced by an outside company and sold by Mercedes was the Mercedes Benz C36 AMG. AMG lends its talents to the fields of performance capability. A very minimal number of these vehicles were produced. Only about 200 of the Mercedes C36 AMG were actually brought over to America. Mercedes AMG than ceased to produce them in 1998. Having only been manufactured from 1995 to 1998 made the Mercedes Benz C36 AMG a very popular and collectible model even if it was a souped up 4 valve 6 cylinder engine. Mercedes USA now carries an extensive line of Mercedes AMG vehicles, the C36 being what will probably be considered the precursor to a revolution in performance based luxury vehicles.
Mercedes Benz C36 AMG Parts from FCP Euro
FCP Euro offers a brand way to shop for high quality Mercedes Benz C36 AMG parts. By browsing our C36 AMG catalog you'll have access to growing range of different quality tier products manufactured by highly respected brand names such as Meyle, Bosch, and Genuine Mercedes. Whether you're looking for OE quality aftermarket parts, or looking for C36 AMG original parts, FCP Euro has what you're looking for. In addition to our commitment to offering you the Mercedes C36 AMG parts that will best suit your maintenance needs, we have a highly trained, highly qualified staff of customer service experts. Our staff includes P2 Parts and ASE certified technicians that are here to answer your questions and get you ONLY the parts you need in a friendly and timely fashion. With unmatched commitment to quality and personal satisfaction, FCP Euro offers you an unrivaled and refreshing replacement parts shopping experience that will boost your confidence and give you the peace of mind that every Mercedes Benz owner deserves.


text:
Pack Details
Title: Lunges: Beginner to Masters
Ever wondered how to create those beautiful partnered lunges you see in blues and Lindy Hop? This lesson pack starts with fundamental lunge technique, then expands upon it to delve into flashier and more dynamic variations.
Dance genre: Lindy Hop
Packs are 15% off!
How it works
Lesson Packs are groups of lessons that are pre-selected for a certain theme, or are part of a larger sequence.
When you purchase this Lesson Pack, you get access to all of the lessons contained in this pack, and at a significant discount.
Pack Lessons must be dowloaded (after purchase) and activated (if you have an active subscription) individually.


text:
JAMAICA, New York (May 21, 2013) – ICNA IT Department announces the release of the ICNA-MAS Convention mobile application. This free app, available for Android and iPhone users, offers several features like creating personal program schedule, bio of all speakers, bazaar map, instant program updates and a convenient way to follow convention Tweets.
Download and review the ICNA-MAS Convention 2013 app for Android and iOS mobile devices here:
Or scan to download:
You can also click here to visit the mobile version of the website.
The app can help you in many ways as follows:
- Keep track of sessions. Find out who is speaking and when and where
- Only interested in Youth, Sisters Only or Ethnic Sessions, use the filter feature (Click on the funnel icon – at the top right of Schedule. Filter only for type of sessions (8 different filters available)
- Like a session and want to be reminded — Click the + sign on the left. Choose when you wanted to be notified (10,30 or an hour before the session). Keep doing this for all the sessions you like. A green check-box appears in place of the "+" sign.
- To find all the sessions you want to attend simply click on the My Schedule button at the top of the Schedule Window and find your list. Want to remove something from your list just click the green check-box.
- Want to see sessions for another day, use the "<" or ">" arrows on top of the schedule screen.
- Want to know what are topics or session details, Click on the session and select Description tab
- Want to know who is speaking, Click on the session and select Speakers tab
- Want to look up speaker introduction (bio) just select the speaker from the list
- Remember, the color bars on the left gives you a quick "type of session" (Youth, Sisters Only, Parallel, etc.)
- If you are speaking in one or more sessions — you can use the app to keep track of sessions in the same way the audience are tracking your sessions. Best of all — Be reminded of them automatically.
- Want to learn about the speakers, Check their pictures — Sometimes speakers don't want to share their pictures or bio — we respect that.
- See a speakers Title from the list.
- Like a speaker and want to follow all their session — click on the speakers name, click Sessions — now you can click on their sessions and add them to your schedule.
About (i)
- Don't miss this section of the app. It has lots of useful information.
- Why attend – Information about the convention
- Online Registration — don't mind the small font and want to register from the mobile device directly — Now you can
- Wondering how much food will cost you and want to know before you leave your hotel room or session — Check out this section for food prices in the food court and decide
- Drove to the convention and wondering where to Park — Check the Parking Rates for Marriott.
- SAVE $$ on Your Daily and Overnight Rates – Check for a coupon right in your mobile app. Show it to the attendant and SAVE
- Flying to the Bradley Airport – Check for shuttle service hours and rates from the Airport to the Convention Center
- Want to know more about the Convention Center and the Venue – Check the Venue section
- Need to take the roundtrip bus from NY to Hartford – Check the Travel section for pickup and drop-off details (date, time and locations) + How to make reservations
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Have a question ? Check our FAQ section under the About section
- Need Baby Sitting – Information are in the palm of your hand – scroll down to the section on Baby Sitting
- Still Have Questions – Scroll to the session on Contacting Us
- Find directions for different hotels.
- Click on the List button on top to see list of hotels, prices and phone numbers.
- Use the Filter feature to see venue, hotels on the map and in the list.
- We thank our sponsors for their support
- In this section you can find our who are sponsors are and find a variety of information about them.
- Connect with our sponsors through email, web and phone.
- We have included a map and the Bazaar layout. Pinch out to see details.
This content for this app is maintained by the ICNA-MAS Convention team.


text:
New Xbox One Reputation System Isolates Griefers
I remember a time when signing onto Xbox Live meant sportsmanlike conduct, friendly banter, and general awe that a console offered both online play and voice chat. The shine quickly wore off, and players started realizing that voiced communication is only slightly less anonymous than an internet message board.
Microsoft has an enforcement team that works to ensure that users comply with the terms of services. The banhammer is dropped often, but it still doesn't land on every antagonistic player.
According to an interview with OXM, Microsoft senior product manager Mike Lavin says the company is working on a way to further segregate the rule-abiding folks from the griefers. The new system will push the "bad" players together, freeing up the airwaves for those that engage in sportsmanlike behavior.
Lavin cites the party system as a strength, but also indicates a hope that the new process will encourage small groups to join the game chat channel. "The problem we see is that this fragments voice communication within games," Lavin said. "It's very difficult, because if you're isolated in Party Chat, you're leaving everybody else behind."
Lavin assures that the system can't be tampered with by a group of people conspiring to lower one user's reputation. Actions like being blocked or avoided will, over time, sink you further into the pit with other players of the same ilk.
[Source: OXM]
Our Take
On paper, this is a great idea. Microsoft's own biggest barrier to getting players to join game chat is the strength of the party system and chat, though. The Xbox Live team will need to find ways to incentivize players to join the game chat channel. Years of conditioning have taught groups of friends to stick together and off the public airwaves.
Microsoft will need to evidence that the system is already working before skeptics take the plunge. As important is that the process to switch channels and rate other players will need to be as easily accessible and simple as possible. Right now, the rating process takes multiple button presses in order to complete. Changing the chat channel is a bit easier, but still takes a few button presses.
The user interface needs to support the new ratings system, not stand in the way of it.


text:
A survey of patients receiving treatment in a teaching facility found that patients prefer to be informed of trainee participation in their care, and consent rates appear to vary based on scenarios describing increased levels of resident participation, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
According to background in the article, the concept of surgeon-patient interaction prior to surgery can be traced back as far as ancient Greece; however, the formal system of informed consent is more modern. "Currently, no widely accepted guidelines or policies exist for providing information regarding the role of surgical trainees to the patient during the informed consent process," the authors write. "The accepted standard is to provide information that 'a reasonable patient' would want and would need to know to make an informed decision, but this counseling may vary widely by health care professional, setting, and type of surgical procedure."
Christopher R. Porta, M.D., and colleagues from Madigan Army Health System, Tacoma, Wash., conducted an anonymous questionnaire at a tertiary-level U.S. Army hospital and referral center, to evaluate patient perceptions and willingness to participate in surgical resident education and training programs.
The authors distributed 500 surveys, 316 (63.2 percent) of which were returned and included in the study. Most patients indicated no preference for a private hospital versus a teaching hospital, however of those who did, more preferred a teaching hospital to a private facility for overall care (24.9 percent vs. 8.8 percent) and minor surgical procedures (28.2 percent vs. 12 percent), but hospital preference for major surgical procedures was similar (24.7 percent vs. 26.6 percent). Additionally, 91.2 percent of those patients who indicated a facility preference reported that their care in a teaching hospital would be equivalent to or better than that of a private hospital.
Patients also indicated they overwhelmingly preferred to be informed of resident participation in their surgical procedure, regardless of whether it was a major procedure (95.7 percent) or a minor surgery (87.5 percent). A total of 94 percent of respondents indicated they would consent to involvement of a surgical resident, however this decreased to 85 percent for a surgical intern and 79.9 percent for medical student involvement. When provided with specific scenarios involving trainee participation, 57.6 percent of patients consented to having a junior resident act as the first assistant, 25.6 percent consented to the resident acting as the operation surgeon with direct staff observation, and 18.2 percent consented to resident participation without direct staff observation.
The authors conclude that their findings show, "patients routinely would prefer to be informed regarding details of trainee participation in their care, and that this information would significantly affect their willingness to consent." However, they also note, "Although most patients express an overall willingness to participate in surgical education, wide variations can be observed in the actual consent rates for specific training situations. This decreased willingness to consent and the potential effect on training programs must be considered when discussing policy initiatives aimed at improving informed consent."
Story Source:
Materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Cite This Page:


text:
Lots of people tell me that human beings are supposed to be predators and carnivores—that we're supposed to be the top of the food chain! This makes human beings sound really important and special, doesn't it? There's only one small problem with this idea. The apex predator of an ecosystem (i.e., a predator that has no predators of its own) is not really at the top of its food chain. The creatures at the very tippy top of the food chain are the parasites that feed on the apex predator. Here's a link to an article that describes the protozoa, worms, and mites that were found in the droppings of wild lions in Tanzania. These parasites are the sort of creatures I think of when someone mentions the top of the food chain! Not so glamorous, is it?
The idea that human beings should be at the top of the food chain and therefore should or must kill and eat other animals to maintain some sort of special status sounds to me like a weird and dangerous form of narcissism. It asserts that we are special and entitled to special privileges, but it bases that exalted status on primitive animalistic behaviors, not on the abilities and accomplishments that are unique to our species. We're the only known species in the universe with whom it is even theoretically possible to hold an intelligent conversation. We're the only ones who can contemplate and deliberately shape our own destiny. Those uniquely human gifts make us special, even if we eat the low-fat plant-based foods that are good for our health instead of the fatty, meaty foods that are the major cause of death and disability in the United States.


text:
PV inverter supplier base fragments in 2012 – Minimal impact from recent M&A activity in 2013
The market share of the 10 largest PV inverter suppliers fell from 62% in 2011 to 56% in 2012.
The supplier base for photovoltaic (PV) inverters further fragmented in 2012, with the total market share of the 10 largest suppliers falling by more than four percentage points, according to the latest quarterly report from IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc.
This was partly due to strong growth in demand from China and Japan, where most of the Top 10 largest suppliers have limited presence. SMA Solar Technology's share of global revenue fell for the third consecutive year to slightly more than 25%—as the PV market continued to fragment and demand for its products weakened in its core markets. A flurry of recent M&A activity, including Advanced Energy's acquisition of REFUsol and ABB's purchase of Power-One, also has had little impact on the competitive landscape and has resulted in only minimal changes to the supplier rankings.
PV inverter supplier base fragments
Although recent bankruptcies, exits and acquisitions normally would indicate industry consolidation, the market share of the 10 largest PV inverter suppliers fell from 62% in 2011, to 56% in 2012.
SMA Solar Technology's dominant position in the PV inverter industry slid further in 2012, when its share fell to slightly more than 25%, having stood at nearly 40% in 2009.
"The year 2012 saw many of the leading suppliers, including the three largest—SMA, Power-One and Kaco—lose market share, largely due to their limited presence in China and Japan, both of which grew rapidly in 2012," said Sam Wilkinson, PV inverter research manager at IHS. "The majority of suppliers that gained share in 2012 were mid-size companies that are targeting growing segments of the market, in contrast to the market leaders whose businesses still heavily revolved around the stagnating core markets in Europe. The number of suppliers with a market share of more than 1% increased to 24% in 2012, with this growing group of suppliers accounting for three-quarters of market revenue."
Enphase & Advanced Energy gain share amid market exits
The majority of suppliers that gained market share and moved up the rankings were those with a strong presence in fast-growing markets or those that offered new technologies. Advanced Energy and Enphase's strong position in the fast growing U.S. market resulted in their global rankings improving to fourth and sixth, respectively in 2012, up from eighth and eleventh in 2011. Similarly, Omron's strength in the Japanese market allowed it to gain six places and become the first Asian supplier to place in the Top-10
Conversely, three suppliers have slipped from the Top-10 ranking in 2012: Satcon, which declared bankruptcy following financial difficulties; Siemens, which withdrew from the industry citing lower growth and strong price pressure; and Sputnik Engineering, which has a strong focus on the stalling European market.
Acquisitions make little impact on supplier base
Recent weeks have seen the acquisition of a number of PV inverter suppliers. Advanced Energy's acquisition of REFUsol, and ABB's acquisition of Power-One both represent strong strategic moves to broaden product portfolios and gain access to both existing core and new markets. However, IHS has found that these acquisitions will have only a minimal immediate impact on the composition of the supplier base.
Despite its acquisition by ABB, Power-One's position as the second largest supplier to the market and the distance between it and SMA remains relatively unchanged due to ABB's share of the market being less than 1% in 2012. The acquisition by Advanced Energy of REFUsol would see the combined company gain just one place in the rankings, leapfrogging Kaco, to become the third largest supplier.
"The acquisitions do not represent a major consolidation in the industry—once the ranking tables are adjusted to allow for these changes, the combined market share of 2012's 10 largest suppliers increases to just 59%, still less than we saw in 2011," Wilkinson added.
Although M&A, bankruptcies and exits are causing some consolidation within certain regions, many new emerging markets, particularly China and Japan—which will be the two largest markets in 2013—bring with them a new, rapidly expanding set of local inverter suppliers and therefore the market is fragmenting on a global level.
"The end result is that these new markets are highly challenging for existing suppliers to penetrate as there is a deeply entrenched supplier base already in place. As the market continues to become more and more geographically diverse, the supplier base is likely to continue fragmenting," Wilkinson concluded.
Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.


text:
Chameleon 2.1 Released
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
I'm preparing a chameleon's install/update module for Lizard. As i'm only running with SL, and i can't deeply test it on Leopard, i would like some testers for Leopard. Trauma already test it, things appears ok, but if 1 or 2 more persons can test it, it will be great, cause there is some changes in diskutil since 10.6 (i use it to retrieve partitions infos).
Just need some test with the installer module. Can you tell me when this strange things happen?A log from console can be also very usefull. Thanks.
*BTW why is this app trying to connect to some online-poker? i downloaded it from that dropbox url you pasted above.
now check screenie with logs. I was trying this Lizard app for 3-4 times, only once in those 50-60 attempts did the App's MAIN screen got messed up like before, could not reproduce.i still have to test this app for making proper iSO , once i get off my other To-DO's.


text:
Make: Kawasaki
OEM Air Filter Air Flow:91.86 CFM
DNA Air Filter Air Flow: 138.00 CFM
DNA Increased Air Flow:50.40%
DNA Filtering Efficiency: 98-99%
Product Information
- This filter features DNA's 3D Oval Design.
- Installation of the filter is very easy, simply follow the information that can be found in the Kawasaki workshop manual.
- The filtering efficiency is extremely high at 98-99% filtering efficiency(ISO 5011), with 4 layers of DNA Cotton.
- The flow of this DNA Fcd filter is very high, 50.40% more than the Kawasaki stock paper filter!
- DNA Fcd air filter flow: 138.00 CFM (Cubic feet per minute) @1,5"H2O corrected @ 25degrees Celsius.
- Kawasaki stock paper filter: 91.86 CFM (Cubic feet per minute) @1,5"H2O corrected @ 25degrees Celsius.
- This DNA filter is designed as a High flow Air filter for:'Road & Race use'.